Dec 31, 2010

I've finally got a chance to sit & chat. It seems like this Holiday season went by like a whirlwind.
As I sit here right now, it is thundering outside and RAINING!
WHAT??!!! In the middle of winter in Indiana? What a muddy mess!
I just hope that it doesn't freeze later this evening. I hope everyone has a SAFE New Years trip home.

Christmas was great this year! I enjoyed having the whole family with me on Christmas Eve. This year it was a little difficult for me to find presents for the grandkids. They are ages from 8 to 11. Too big for little kid toys and I can't afford all the electronics that they wanted. So besides the usual hat & gloves, they got remote control helicopters, fingernail kits and these buggs. They were a great hit.
My youngest granddaughter did get a new sewing machine from Santa. Her Mom thought it would get more use at my house, so she has brought it to Grandmas to learn on. We have been straightening out my craftroom so we can put her new machine, my older machine (for the other granddaughter) & my sewing machine all in a row on my table. I can see an all-night sew-along in the near future! LOL

My 60th Birthday was on the 19th too! I still can't believe that! I sure don't feel like 60! I don't mind being older except that means that our loved ones are getting older too. My father has already gone to Heaven and I miss him immensely. And to see my Mom & my In-laws get older and more frail is very heartwrenching. Thoughts like this seem to enter my head as every new year begins. Then I think of all the good times that we all spent together. I'm very blessed to have my whole family close by.
2010 was a wonderful year and I look forward to whatever 2011 brings!

I have several thank yous for gift swaps & winnings that I need to catch up on after the holidays. I really do appreciate it all and I'm sorry I didn't get things posted promptly. That will be one of my resolutions this year...Keep my Blog Posts up to date! Oh Dummy Me! Why can't I just get started now? I am such a procrastinator! Here goes..........
I was in a stocking swap over on Noelle's blog Lil Bits and Pieces of Me.

My swap partner was Melanie. Check out her blog, Country Roads. I was so excited to get it mailed out that I forgot to take a picture, so I'm going to borrow the one that Melanie took. This is what I sent to Melanie.
I made her a blue & silver raggy quilt stocking and stuffed it with this cute kitty trinket box and kitty in a basket ornament and some fruity candies.
Melanie is expecting her first baby soon. So I made a little stuffed kitty for the little one too.

This is Kelly (GD#1) modeling what I recieved from Melanie. I had to keep reminding her that they were mine.
The scarf & gloves are so warm & fuzzy. I've used them a couple of times already. I also got the cutest crocheted snowman ornament. It was the first to go on my tree this year.
Now I hope I remember all of the giveaway winnings that I was blessed with recently. I know I should have posted these right away so as not to forget anyone. But they will have to wait until later.
Now I have to go get some ham rollups made and get ready for the New Year's Party.

Dec 13, 2010

Every year for the last couple of years, I have gotten the Christmas tree completely decorated only to find that a couple of days later there is a strand of lights that doesn't want to stay lit. How frustrating! So this year I decided we needed new lights. I always put multi-colored lights on the tree before but I really wanted a complete change. I wanted something that would go with all my snowman ornaments. It was either going to be all white or all blue. I chose to get some LED lights in BLUE. The grandkids helped me do the tree decorating this year, so they wrapped all the lights on the tree and we plugged them in. OMG...LED lights are so much brighter! It took me a little while to get used to all the blueness. But I think I like it!

What I'm not sure about is the effect on my ceiling. Look at this!

It reminds me of a Disco. LOL Especially with the star that blinks too.
It definately is a change from before. The grandkids love it!
I'm sure I will too after I get all the ornaments on it.

Dec 2, 2010

My grandson Zack wanted to help me pick a winner today. After we cut all the papers and wrote down the names. He folded them all up and put them in our Santa hat.
See the sparkle in his eye? :o}
Well maybe it's just the camera flash reflection, but I think it's a sparkle.
This is the name he drew out of the hat...

Prim in the Country !!
If you would send an email to me with your address and which snowlady you prefer ( the primitive or the pink), I will get them sent off to you right away! Congratulations!!

Nov 29, 2010

I really enjoyed having everyone over for the big Thanksgiving dinner and then watching all the grandkids the next day, while their Mom's went shopping.
But I am really enjoying today!
Kelly is back in school. The kids are all back to work. My hubby has been out in his garage all day cleaning and I have the house to myself!
After getting everybody sent off to where they were going this morning, I decided to do some blog hopping.
What a Great Day!
I ordered some fabrics from This n That Fabrics. They are having a cyber sale this morning. I had so much on my list that I had to go back through it and remove a few items before I ordered. Then when I read my email...
I found out that I won a $25 gift certificate at their store. So now I can get a few of the items I had to remove. Yippee!

Not only that, but when I got to Madalynne's blog "Pineapple Primitives", I was lucky enough to be one of the first 12 readers of her blog this Monday morning and I won one of her little Teddy Bear ornaments.Somebody pinch me!
You have to go see the reindeer family that she has made.

A couple of weeks ago I won one of Deborah's birthday giveaways. Her blog is WoolenSails. She has some freebie Santa patterns that you can cross stitch or needlepunch posted on her blog right now if you are interested.
I chose this rooster pattern. I plan on doing some rug hooking after Christmas.

Now I better go get some cleaning done in my craftroom. After I do my route tonight, I'm going to get lost in there for a few days. I have some things I would like to get done for Christmas presents and I still have a blanket I promised to make for Jordan's birthday last month. She did help me pick the fabrics out and I got them all cut last Friday. She said she wanted me to wrap it up & give it to her on Cristmas, so she could have one extra present more than the other two did. She's always trying to do one better than them. I guess that comes from being the youngest. :o}

Nov 21, 2010

To show my appreciation to my followers, I am having this Giveaway!
I cannot tell you enough how very grateful I am that there are people that actually think that I am interesting enough to stop in from time to time and see what I have to write about. Thanks!!
Since Christmas is right around the corner, I've given this giveaway that Holiday theme. I've made a little yoyo candle mat and a grungy snowlady doll. There will be a couple of little extra surprises too.

USA and Canadian entries only! I really wish that shipping wasn't so expensive and I could include others.
This giveaway ends on December 1.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. You need to be a follower!
I adore all of the followers I have now, but wouldn't mind a few more. :o}
2. You need to leave a comment on this post or the original post below.
What are your favorite Christmas decorations? Santa, nativities, penguins?

That's it! But if you would like an extra entry than you could:

3. Post this giveaway to your blog!

I am posting my giveaway again on this post because the original post seems to have gotten hidden amongst my other posts.
All entries from both posts will be counted. You do not need to comment on both posts, only one please.

Also...
If primitive isn't your 'cup of tea' then I will also have this little lady and a pink pennyrug to choose from.

Nov 20, 2010

I didn't get a lot accomplished for my Friday night Sew-in. I did get my fabrics prewashed & dryed. Then I was cutting away at the squares when my doorbell rang. Company dropped by! So I will have to try again tonight. I would like to get the squares all sandwiched together tonight. If you're not familiar about raggy quilts, it takes 3 squares of fabrics that are sewn together with an X, then you sew those squares together with the seams showing on the right side. After that you clip, clip, clip! When you wash it the seams wil fray and make a soft seam.
This is a close-up of another quilt that I already had done.

These are the squares that I have cut for Jordan's quilt.

The middle fabric of the squares isn't seen,except for in the frayed seams, so I can usally use some leftover fabrics that have the same colors for those. I intended on using the bright green with dots & the snowman fabrics for the middle fabrics. But when I asked Jordan to check out the colors I had picked out, guess what? Those were the first two fabrics picked out that she liked. LOL Looks like I'm putting a couple of snowmen on the backside of her quilt.

That's all I have to show you today.
I'm going to be leaving to go to a Christmas Open House Show soon.
Hopefully I can get back to work on this quilt later this evening.

Click on the Friday Night Sew In banner on my sidebar to see who has joined in on the fun.
Have a Good Day!!!

Nov 19, 2010

Tonight is Friday Night Sew-In and I am going to be heading to my craftroom for the night soon. I am going to be working on the rag quilt that I promised my youngest granddaughter. Then I will have to get my oldest granddaughter's quilt done. But first I had to show you what the two girls are working on.
They knew that I was going to be sewing and asked me if there was something that they could do. So I told them to go in the craftroom and find something, but I wouldn't be able to help them much. They came out a few minutes later with this...

and wanted to know if they could make him some clothes. They found a doll that I had started and was going to make into a Santa. I hesitated at first, then said OK. I just asked them to show me the material they wanted to use first, to make sure it wasn't something that I had plans for. They are both busy working away.

I have already decided that this is going to be one prim doll that I will keep forever.

I better get to work myself now! I'll show you the finished doll when they're done.

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway! Just click the button on my sidebar for my 100th follower giveaway and post your comment on that post.

Nov 15, 2010

Well I have a kinda good excuse for missing it. Maybe!
First I need to backtrack a bit. {{The giveaway will be at the end of this post...I promise}}
Years ago, I had decorated my home with a more country look. Then a couple years ago I decided I needed a change. Everything was browns or greens and so blah. I thought I was missing some color. So I packed everything away and started decorating with the Shabby Chic style, with lots of roses and pinks and aqua. My family came home one day while I was painting my kitchen walls AQUA and said they felt like they walked into a fish bowl. When I painted my cupboards a white with pink crackle finish, I think they were about to commit me to the old peoples home. I thought it was very pretty...for a while. I soon got tired of the frilly look. I really missed having my crocks on display and it wasn't as fun going to the antique stores or junking. What I missed most of all was the PRIMITIVES.
My daughter and I went to Shipshewana on Thursday to find a present for my other daughter's birthday. We found a big wooden bowl for her to put on her dining table, but I also noticed their rag rugs. I found one that had the perfect colors in it.
Right then & there I decided I was going to redecorate my kitchen~!!
I bought the rug and took it home to try and decide what color I would paint the walls. That same night, I made a trip to the hardware store to get some color cards and buy some paint samples. I painted a few swatches of the two samples I got.
Didn't like either one of them, but I did see the perfect color in the color cards. It's called "Agave". A little hard to describe. It's a bluish, greenish, grey color that is darker than anything I've painted on my walls before. There are stripes of this same color in the rug.
So I have spent ALL weekend painting!
I didn't realize I had so much stuff, until I had to move it all. Then you have to clean it before you put it back. I'm gradually bringing my primitives, crocks and antiques out of the storage cupboards. It's feeling much more like home now!
Next comes new curtains. I bought the material today. I will post more pictures when I get things finished.
I got so involved in my kitchen redo that I totally forgot about my giveaway.

Now to get back to what you may be waiting for...MY GIVEAWAY for getting 100 followers!!!

To show my appreciation to my followers, I am having this Giveaway!
I cannot tell you enough how very grateful I am that there are people that actually think that I am interesting enough to stop in from time to time and see what I have to write about. Thanks!!
Since Christmas is right around the corner, I've given this giveaway that Holiday theme. I've made a little yoyo candle mat and a grungy snowlady doll. There will be a couple of little extra surprises too.

USA and Canadian entries only! I really wish that shipping wasn't so expensive and I could include others.
This giveaway ends on December 1.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. You need to be a follower!
I adore all of the followers I have now, but wouldn't mind a few more. :o}
2. You need to leave a comment on this post only!
What are your favorite Christmas decorations? Santa, nativities, penguins?

Nov 10, 2010

I had my dear Hubby pick a number from 1 to 29 and he picked number ELEVEN. And who was number eleven out of the 29 entries?

LESLIE LEMKE - CRAFTY MOM

Congratulations Leslie!! If you would send me an email with your mailing address, I will get it to you right away.
She is a fantastic lady. You should go give her a visit at her blog.
http://craftymom03.blogspot.com/

Nov 5, 2010

We were two of the participants of an ornie swap that Wendy of Ravenwood Whimzies had put together. Tammy was my secret swap partner. Her doll ornie has already found it's spot on my little tree. I really like that she isn't too Christmasy and I can keep her out all year long. Thanks Tammy!!!
Now I have to tell you a funny story about her ornie (hope you don't mind Tammy).
This was the picture that I first took of the doll ornie.
You don't see anything wrong do you?
Well my daughter did !!
She looked at the picture nonchalantly and said "Is it smoking a cigarette?"
"WHAT?"
We both had to go into the kitchen and take a second look at her...
No she wasn't smoking. What we saw was the little jute string that was tied around her neck holding her bonnet on. It was poking up in front of her face.
Oh my gosh! Not only did this little ornie give me joy when I opened the package, but she gave us a chuckle a few days later too.

I have signed up for the November Friday Night Sew-in that Heidi and Bobbi have organized. This will be my first time. It sounds like a lot of fun & a great way to get the mojo to finish some of those Christmas gifts I need to do.
Would you like to know what it is all about?
On Friday 11/19, you spend some time in your craft space and work on your projects. Then on Saturday you post about what you have done on your blog. You can post some pictures on the FNSI Flickr group also. On Sunday they will draw a name from the particapants to win a prize (4 prizes this month). There will be a MrLinky list for you to go visit the other participants.
The FNSI Giveaway this month is sponsored by Me and My Sister Designs. Me and My Sister Designs have created many adorable lines of fabric for Moda.
If you would like to join in on the fun then go to Heidi's blog:Handmade by Heidi

Nov 3, 2010

I've decided to have two giveaways to celebrate my reaching 100 followers. This is the first of the two and it is only going to last for one week. This way the winner will receive it before Thanksgiving.
First, I would like to let all of my followers know that I appreciate them very much. I look forward to signing on to the computer after a busy day and visiting with my buddies. Now, onto the prize....

I have made a little "Thank You for being my Follower" stitchery! But you can use it as a Thanksgiving display too.

Isn't he cute?
If you would like to be entered in this giveaway, these are the rules:

Entries will be excepted for this giveaway until November 9th.

You have to live in the United States or Canada (sorry, but the shipping rates are too expensive for International).

You must be a follower of my blog.

You must leave a comment on this post only.

And if you'd like an extra chance, you could post my giveaway on your blog.

Little kitty & his punkin were handstitched by me. In the distressed black frame, it measures 6"x8". It is my version of a pattern from Chestnut Junction. You should give them a visit. They have some great patterns and Freebies too.
I liked this guy so much that I'm going to make one for myself too!

Oct 31, 2010

I hope everyone has had a Spooktacular weekend! My family has a get-together for this holiday instead of taking the kids trick-or-treating every day. This year we put up a huge tent and had lots of activities and decorations outside. Here are some of the pictures I have now.

My son's dog, Emerson in his devil outfit.

Some of the food that we made:
deviled egg eyeballs and monster sloppy joes
cut-out cheese slices and a white chocalate covered spoon with yogurt, a mandarin orange & pineapple. These were really yummy.
cream cheese stuffed ham fingers
and lots of deserts

Some of the decor in the corner of the tent
I will post about our party again when I get more pictures.

This was after pumpkin carving day!

Now I know you are wondering.....
WHAT ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY?

I haven't forgot! I've just got a little side-tracked with this Halloween party. So I've decided to have two giveaways!!
The first one I will post on Tuesday. It will be a quick one that will only run for a few days because it will have Thanksgiving items in it.
The next one will run a little longer and it will be Christmas themed.
I think you will be happy with what I have chose.

Translate

Anne's giveaway

ends Feb.9

Isabel's Giveaway

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iih9l2xl9xQ/VMIyLHgsmCI/AAAAAAAACao/LzDhK4xCQ_s/s220/Fotos%2Bsorteo%2B013.JPG
Sorry I couldn't get the pic to work. It's lovely & you should check it out at above link.
Ends Feb. 14